Crīstes mæsse
by Astoria Potter
Summary: COMPLETE. It's Christmas in Panem, and for two people, it's a time for amends and truth. Gale/Johanna, Finnick/Annie, Peeta/Katniss, Haymitch/Maysilee.
1. Year Two

Story: Crīstes mæsse

Total Word Count: 10,233

Chapters: 1/2

Summary: It's Christmas in Panem, and for two people, it's a time for amends and truth. Gale/Johanna, Finnick/Annie, Peeta/Katniss, Haymitch/Maysilee.

Pairings: Gale/Johanna-centric, with Finnick/Annie, Peeta/Katniss, and Haymitch/Maysilee.

Rating: PG-13 (Language, angst, and then fluffers)

Spoilers: All through _Mockingjay_.

Maker: Ellyce (Astoria Potter)

Recipient of gift: Dori (hulamoth)

A/N: This fic was written for my darling roommate Dori (hulamoth) as part of the Secret Santa gift exchange over at ontd_panem, where it was originally posted. Enjoy, my dear!

And, I was going to say that there was going to be a free drabble for whoever spotted the Richard Armitage reference first and specified the film or television series, but Dori spotted it already. So, I am at your service, dear.

That being said, free drabble for the next person who can catch the Richard Armitage reference! Make sure to correctly specify what character he plays and what film or TV series it's from! (: This will apply seperately on , LJ, and The Girl on Fire, so here we go! (:

Crīstes mæsse, Part I

_Year Two_

"It's Christmas Eve," Gale said as he stepped out of the house, swiftly locking the door behind him before he turned to Johanna.

"Yeah, I know that," she said matter-of-factly, still not turning to look at him. "I still don't see why you insist on taking the train to Four to pick up Annie and then going to the Capitol. You know that she's capable of getting on that train by herself with Finnie, don't you?"

He knew that. "Maybe I just wanted to spend more time with you," he smiled. It was the truth, but he said it in a light tone. Johanna would close herself up if he was too serious about this kind of thing.

She laughed, as he knew she would. "You're funny, Hawthorne."

"Yeah," he said as the snow crunched beneath their boots. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Merry Christmas!" Haymitch laughed, his words slurred as he swung the bottle around in the air.

"It's Christmas Eve," said a soft voice that he often heard at times like this. "There's still one more day."

"Maysilee," he said, an amused smile on his face. "Hello. You're not real."

"How do you know if I'm real or not?" she returned the smile, clearly not one to back down.

"You're _dead_," he said, spitting out the words. "You're dead, so don't come here and into my head and-"

"Get yourself cleaned up," she said as she sat down on his kitchen counter and crossed her legs. "We're going to go pick up the girl and her boy, and then we're going to head on over to the Capitol. Then you're going to watch Katniss Everdeen light the fucking Christmas tree, and we're all going to hold hands and sing."

He laughed again, a deep, rumbling sound. "_We_? I wasn't aware that there was a 'we', Maysilee."

"Was there ever one?" she asked, tilting her head to the side and observing him.

Haymitch squeezed his eyes shut, hoping, hoping, _hoping_, that he would open them and that she would be gone. But when his eyes fluttered open, she was still there, like always. "What games are you playing at?" he asked, his voice a low growl.

"What game do I always play at?" she quirked her eyebrows in challenge.

He went upstairs to get himself cleaned up. Shit. She won. _Again. _

At first, the train ride over to Four consisted of them sitting at the round table, Gale scribbling down some notes as Johanna watched him, an intent look on her face.

She'd been staring at him for about five minutes before he looked up. It wasn't that he was unaware of her eyes on him, because he'd known. It was just that there was a small part of him (actually, a _huge_ part of him, perhaps even all of him) that found happiness in her watching him. It made him feel like she cared. Like they meant more to each other than they wanted to acknowledge.

"What?" he heard himself ask.

She opened her mouth, as though to say something, but all she did was reach over and tuck a few stray hairs behind his ear. Her fingers lingered, and a strange feeling went through him.

"Jo..." he said, not sure of how he should next proceed. He wasn't particularly good with women that he cared about and their feelings. Romantically speaking, anyway. All that time with Katniss, and every choice that he made had ended up in her loathing him and no goodbye between them. With Jo, he didn't want to do something and muck it all up. Gale knew a good thing when he saw it (Johanna wasn't a _thing_ to him, but this was a saying, and he didn't mean it in some chauvinistic pig way, so give him some credit), and Johanna was one of the few good things (actually, the _only_ good thing) that had happened to him in such a long time. They were living in a world recovering from death and carnage, and although everyone else seemed to be picking up the pieces of their lives, Gale felt like he was doing it so much more slowly.

"You're really beautiful, you know," she said softly.

Gale wasn't quite sure of what he was hearing. "What?" he blinked.

"Want to fuck?" she asked, her fingers reaching for the buttons of his coat.

"Jo," he began. "I wanted to ask you what you thought about-"

Her lips crashed into his, crushing and bruising and hard, as though she was trying to cut off his air supply. He moved his face so that she was biting at his neck, nibbling at his skin as her fingers worked the buttons of his coat.

"Jo," he repeated. "Jo, we need to ta-"

"Shut up," she said, yanking the lapels of his coat and pushing him down onto the table, limbs and legs tangling, the heat of their bodies threatening to - to what? Gale's mind couldn't think, couldn't process anything right then, and he knew that Johanna knew this and was using this aspect of their non-existent relationship.

Well, then.

"... my true love gave to me, a sea otter with his hat." Annie finished her song.

Finnie was relatively still in her arms, his breathing even, the rise and fall of his strong, tiny chest rhythmic and firm. She placed a kiss to his soft cheek before pressing her forehead to his. She made a move to remove her pinkie finger, which was held in a tight grip by her son. She found, however, that his tiny fingers had firmly latched onto her smallest finger and that his hold was unrelenting.

So they lay there like that, mother and son, one fast asleep while the other's mind raced.

"Finnick," Annie said to herself, her voice soft. "Finnick, I miss you."

The only answer she received was the silence of the room. Annie closed her eyes and let sleep overtake her, where she knew that she would see Finnick once more, where she knew that they would be together again.

It was a good dream, and when she woke up, Annie wasn't so sure that she was simply imagining the feel of Finnick's hands threading through her hair. But what was real, and what wasn't?

They sat in the compartment together, fingers laced, staring him down. It felt like that, anyway.

"So," Peeta said, his voice breaking the comfortable silence that had settled between the three of them. "Are we picking anyone up from the other-"

"No," Haymitch cut him off short.

"I see."

Katniss blinked. "I heard Gale and Johanna were picking up Annie and-"

"They are," Haymitch said tersely. "And we're not."

"We could've gone and picked them up," Peeta said, either oblivious to or choosing to ignore their mentor's stormy mood. "It didn't have to be Gale and Jo-"

"Yeah, it did," Haymitch snapped. "You have no idea how long Johanna's known Annie, and much better than either of you, too. Do you honestly believe that she'd-"

"I think what Peeta is trying to say is that Annie can make it to the Capitol without their help," Katniss interrupted.

Peeta frowned. "That's not exactly what I was-"

"Shut up," Haymitch said before he stormed out of the compartment.

"Someone's moody," Katniss noted.

Peeta said nothing.

_It was snowing. Children were running around and shrieking, snowballs being thrown here and there, missing and hitting their targets. _

_Annie walked down the street, hood pulled up, hands shoved into her coat pockets, heading back into the Victor's Village. She'd promised Mags that she'd come over today and help her bake a batch of seasonal cookies, and she couldn't be late. Well, that was what she told herself. Another voice in her head shouted that the bigger reason was that she was hoping for a glance of Finnick, but she heartily ignored that voice and shoved it to the back of her mind, where it continued to kick and scream. Besides, it wasn't like they were exactly on speaking terms, and since when did she care if he showed-_

_A force slammed into her, so sudden that she was knocked off her feet, and Annie landed on the snow with said force lying on top of her. "Got you," said a familiar voice, and she didn't have to look to see the smirk that she could practically hear. _

_He made no move to get off of her, but she didn't push him off, either. "Finnick," Annie said coldly. "I see you're here." _

_He laughed, and Annie told herself that she didn't care how much that sound made her want to smile or how quickly her heart raced. "Why wouldn't I be? I live here." _

_"Oh, how could I forget?" she snapped back. "You just have to inform everyone that you live in the Victor's Village, don't you? The Great Finnick Odair." She made sure to enunciate each word in her last sentence so that he could hear the capital letters._

_"Aren't you testy today?" Finnick's eyes danced with unsung laughter. "Seeing as everyone's known for years now that I reside in the Victor's-" _

_She should shove him off of her, she knew. But she didn't. "Shut up," she said. _

_He rose his eyebrows. "Oh? Does that mean that I get a kiss?" _

_"Why the hell would I kiss _you_?" Annie said, a note of fury flooding into her voice. _

_His eyebrows arched even higher on his head. "Why wouldn't you?" _

_"Because you're an arrogant prick who's obsessed with himself and bangs anything that moves," Annie snapped. _

_A strange look flittered across his face, but she must have imagined it, because it was gone after a mere fraction of a second. "I don't know about anything that _moves_," he said, a smile on his face. "I mean, the snow's moving, isn't it?" he gestured his head up. "And does it look like I'm having sex with it?" _

_"Please shut up," she said. _

_He went on, ignoring her. "Although having sex _in _the snow." Finnick seemed amused. "You know, I haven't actually done that yet. Artificial snow, yes. But real snow? I have yet to try that, although I could be persuaded, with the right person-" _

_Annie shoved him off of her, sitting up. "Why do you have to be such an asshole?" _

_His eyes danced as he looked at her. "Why do you have to be so wound up?" _

_"I'm heading to Mags'," she blurted out. "I'll see you." _

_"She's busy," Finnick said smoothly. _

_"Oh, really?" Annie asked sarcastically, clearly not buying that. "Doing what?" _

_"Oh, I don't know," Finnick waggled his eyebrows. "What do you think she's doing?" _

_"That's disgusting, Finnick," Annie made a face at him. "I mean, really? Does everything have to be about sex for you?" _

_"Imagine it," he said, amusement flooding his tone. "She could be dressed up with coconuts, and-"_

_"Why the hell would you need coconuts for Christmas?" _

_"Fine, then," Finnick said, his grin widening. "Imagine she's completely nude, and she's pouring some eggnog over herself, and there's sugar plums lined all along her arm. Remember that she's got saggy skin, too, okay? There's green and red icing on her lips, and bits of gingerbread cookies-" _

_"Stop!" Annie said, shaking with mirth as she clutched at her sides. "Finnick, stop!" _

_"I love it when you laugh," he said, the words out before he could help himself. Thank gods he hadn't said '_I love you_'. _

_That brought her up short, and her face was back to an impassive mask. "Oh?" _

_"Yeah," he said in a husky voice, his fingers reaching out to her cheek and wiping some imaginary snow flecks off of her face. "I've missed it." _I've missed you.

_A strange look came across her face, something like hesitation and uncertainty and nervousness all mixed into one. "Finnick..."_

_"Mags wanted me to tell you that she's busy and she can't..." he trailed off suddenly. _

_Annie frowned. "Yes?" _

_"We should make snow angels," Finnick said abruptly. "Together."_

_"_We _should do nothing together." Annie stood up quickly. "I'm heading to Mags'. See you, Odair." _

"Annie," Johanna smiled as the door opened and she embraced the other woman.

"Jo," Annie smiled back at her.

Gale stared at them, at the way that Johanna so openly expressed her affection for Annie, and he wondered if perhaps Annie was one of the few people left that Johanna cared about.

"Oh, and who is this handsome boy?" Johanna was cooing affectionately as the sleeping form in Annie's arms was transferred to her. "Little Finnick Junior, aren't you? Have you missed Aunt Jo, Finnie? Oh, look at you! Aren't you growing up to be just as devilishly handsome as your father?"

Annie met Gale's gaze, and a knowing smile spread across her face.

He rose his eyebrows at her, trying not to stare with incredulity at the scene before him. This was a Johanna that he'd never seen, he'd admit that much. Openly affectionate, sweet (Johanna Mason, sweet?), loving, carefree. No walls up, no defenses that Gale needed to take down - everything that she'd never been with him, that she'd never freely given, was happening right here with Annie's son, and Gale felt a twinge that was akin to pain pluck at his chest. Wait. Hold on a moment. Holy shit. Was he _jealous_ of a one-year-old boy? Was that really possible?

Little Finnick Junior had woken up now, and was busy making laughing noises. Johanna looked entranced as she let his little hand grip her index finger, and she carried him into the hallway and out of sight.

Gale coughed once she was out of sight, but he could still hear the cooed words and murmurs of affection.

"I suppose you've never seen her like that before?" Annie asked, a soft smile on her lips.

"You could say that," Gale said, "I wouldn't be the first person to say so, would I?"

Annie laughed at that. "No," she shook her head. "No, you wouldn't." She tilted her head sideways and gave him a long, hard look, as though she could read everything about him. Perhaps she could, Gale mused. There was a flash of intensity in those green eyes that seemed to root him to the spot, and it gave Annie the effect of an omniscient presence. "You should tell her," Annie said finally, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"What?" he blinked. "Tell her what?"

"How you feel," she said matter-of-factly.

"Ah," he said carefully before he swallowed.

She reached out and squeezed his hand. "She's scared, Gale. You have to reassure her."

"Scared?" Gale asked. "Of what?"

Annie shook her head. "You already know, Gale. And if I'm wrong, and you don't, then perhaps you don't deserve her."

He knew.

"Taking out your anger on the girl and her boy?" Maysilee sing-songed as she sauntered after him. "Tsk, tsk, Haymitch. Really, you shouldn't try so hard to kill every good friendship you have left."

"They're not my only friends," he snapped at her.

"Oh, really?" her eyes danced, and for a moment, she seemed angry. "And who else happens to be your friend, Haymitch?"

"I have tons!" he shouted, waving his alcohol in the air wildly, as though that would convince her. "The other Victors, the-"

"The other Victors that you haven't even seen in _how long_, exactly?" Maysilee sneered, her tone mocking. "Face it, Haymitch. You _have_ no friends. You're going to die all alone, and be an old man-"

"Shut up," he snarled.

She went on, "All wrinkly and pruney and rotting in your bed, with only your liquor for company-"

"Shut up!" he roared. "Shut up, Maysilee, shut _up_-"

The door opened. "Haymitch?" Peeta poked his head gingerly through. "Are you alright? I heard voices in here."

"No, I'm obviously _not _alright, Mellark," he snapped irritably. "Get out!"

Peeta gave him a look that seemed to be full of pity. "If that's what you want."

"Alienating everyone, are you?" Maysilee mocked him. "So predictable, Haymitch. So-"

"Shut up," Haymitch muttered under his breath.

"What?" Peeta stopped, his eyebrows rising.

"You," Haymitch barked at him. "Stay."

Peeta opened his mouth, a quizzical look on his face. But after a moment, he closed the door behind him and walked over. "Alright."

"Want some?" Haymitch laughed as the liquor sloshed in the bottle. He waved it around aimlessly, because it was like him. Aimless.

Peeta frowned. "You were getting better, Haymitch."

"Better at what?" Haymitch returned the frown.

"You weren't drinking so much," Peeta replied camly.

"Well, it's Christmas. I have an excuse," Haymitch grumbled loudly as he collapsed to the floor.

Peeta rushed over to him and tried to prop him up. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"What makes you think there's anything to talk about?" Haymitch laughed.

Peeta rose his eyebrows. "There's something up when I hear you talking to yourself."

"I talk to myself all the time!" Haymitch shouted.

Was it possible for Peeta's eyebrows to arch even higher on his forehead? "No, you don't."

"Don't you talk to yourself?" Haymitch demanded. "Don't you?"

Peeta shrugged. "At times. But I don't talk to imaginary people that aren't there."

Haymitch frowned. "She's not _imaginary_-"

Peeta gave him a sad smile. "See? You admitted it."

Oh, hell.

_"Well?" Finnick asked as Annie turned around, done reading the note on the door. _

_She let out a little shriek. "Finnick! What are you - did you _follow _me here?" _

_He smiled at her. "Nothing better to do, you know." _

_She rolled her eyes. "Oh, ha ha, Odair. Very funny." _

_He made a face at her. "So? What's going on?" _

_"She's taking a nap," Annie said. _

_"What, no utterances of me setting this up?" Finnick rose his eyebrows as he crossed his arms. _

_She rolled her eyes. "It's in Mags' handwriting." Still, Annie had to admit that he and Mags had probably planned this. The old woman had never said it, but Annie knew that Mags wanted her to reconcile with Finnick, and Annie wouldn't put it past her to plan some absurd snowy day that would suddenly bring them together again. _

_But nothing would bring them back to what they used to be. Finnick had taken her trust and thrown it away, had lied to her more than she could bear, and she wouldn't forgive him for that, not for anything in the world. _

_"Well," Finnick was saying. "I guess that means you're stuck with me, aren't you?" _

_Annie rose her eyebrows. "Just because I have to come back in two hours to bake cookies doesn't mean that I'm going to spend it with you. There are plenty of things that I'd rather be doing and _should _be doing, such as-" _

_"Such as _what_, my dear friend?" Finnick rose his eyebrows, his voice smooth. _

_"Well," she said in a reasonable tone. "I have, uh... homework. Homework to do, you see, and I'm going to go back and finish it-" _

_"You always finished your homework the day you got the assignment, Annie." _

_She frowned. "So? That doesn't mean anything." _

_"It means you're already done with your homework, and you really don't have-" _

_"Fine," Annie snapped at him. "I'll give you one hour where you can prance around in the snow and be your ridiculous self, and then afterwards, I'm heading back home and will-" _

_Finnick grinned at her, and it was so real and genuine that she experienced a fresh pang of alarm, the last thing she'd expected to feel. "You know, you don't have to. You could simply walk home, and I'd be a gentleman and walk you back-" _

_She laughed. "Since when have you been a gentleman, Odair?" _

_The snowball came flying at her, and Annie realized that she'd been so absorbed in bantering with Finnick that she hadn't seen it coming. "Ow," she muttered half-heartedly as it smacked her square on the face. _

_Finnick's eyebrows rose before his head whipped in the direction that the ball had come from, and the next thing Annie knew, he was running after whoever it had been and laughing, gathering snow in his gloves along the way. _

_Annie shook her head as she brushed the snow off of her face and trudged slowly after him. _

_"Come on, Annie!" he laughed as he saw her slow pace, and she thought that he sounded so carefree and happy. "It's an invitation to war!" He ran back to her and took her hand in his, ignoring her protests as he laughed and they ran down the street together. _

_Finnick, she noted, had always loved fighting. She sprinted with him, gathering snow in her free glove as well, the two of them running after whoever had thrown the snowball, the winter snow falling all around them. _

"Jo," Gale said as he closed the compartment door behind them.

She sat on top of the counter and gave him a lazy grin. "You wanted to talk?"

"Yeah," he said, but he didn't move towards her.

She frowned at that. "So? I thought we were going to-"

"I wanted to talk, Jo," he said softly. "Nothing else."

Johanna blinked. The words "We need to talk_"_ had never really meant anything else before, not with any of the men that she'd been with, none but _him_. And _him_. The only two men that she'd ever really loved. But that was irrelevant. Both of them were dead and long gone, and it wouldn't do for her to get all sentimental right now. "Really? You weren't thinking about anything else?"

He ran a hand over his face and let out an exasperated breath. "_Jo._"

Somehow, that made her angry. "What?" she snapped irritably. "You brought me in here to talk, didn't you? So _talk_."

Gale let out a sigh. "Jo, I was going to ask you what you thought about moving in together."

She frowned. "We're already living together."

That was true, he supposed. Most of the time, they ended up coming back to his place and fucking before the door had closed and eating dinner and fucking and then falling asleep together and waking up in the middle of the night to fuck some more. Then they would wake up in the morning and fuck some more and head to work together and fuck in the car and try to go through the workday without fucking each other (which never worked).

She never even went back to her house nowadays. Hell, Gale was willing to wager that all of her stuff was already inside his house. But she still had a place of her own, even though she barely ever went there. "Yeah," he said. "But I meant we could start officially-"

"Oh," she said softly before she gave a loud laugh. "You mean you want to tote me around on your arm and tell everyone what a great catch I am, is that it? You want everyone to say that Johanna fucking _Mason_ from District 7 is your girlfriend, is that what you want?"

"I've never used you," he snarled angrily. It hurt that she would think something like that of him. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he could hear Annie saying in a sad voice, "_She's scared, Gale. You have to reassure her_," but he wouldn't listen to it. "If anything, it's been _you _who's been-"

"_Me_?" she snapped, and her voice seemed to have risen to a shriek. "Oh, that's rich, Hawthrone! I'd definitely want someone's second-rate used goods-"

"... tagging along to every single meeting, and they're just so scared shitless of you that they give you a place-"

"... course they would be, I'm a _Victor_, and what the _hell _are you, obviously _I _have some-"

"... like it's so important, and I didn't even give it the okay, but hell, it's not like you ever ask-"

"Why the hell should _I _have to ask?" Johanna screamed as she grabbed a nearby glass cup that was sitting on the counter and threw it at his head.

He ducked, and the cup slammed into the wall behind him, shattering into tiny pieces. "Oh, and obviously throwing something at me is going to resolve the problem in your eyes-"

"The only problem I have," she screamed, "is _you_!"

"Well then, I guess that means you should get rid of me!"

"Fine! We're done! _Done_, do you hear me, Hawthorne?"

"You could at least have the decency to break up with me by using my first name-"

"We were never even official anyway, so this isn't a breakup!" Johanna screamed.

"Fine!" Gale shouted. "It's a non-relationship breakup! It's whatever the _fuck _you want to call it, because I really could care less-"

"Get out!" Johanna screamed as she picked up more glass cups and began to hurl them at him. "Get out, get out, get _out!_"

"I was just leaving!" he roared at her as he ducked an incoming cup and yanked the door open.

"I don't want to see your fucking face ever again!" Johanna snarled.

"It's not like I want to see _your_ face ever again-" Gale felt someone pull him out of the room and hurriedly close the door behind him. "Annie?" he rose his eyebrows.

She gave him a long, hard look. "I can very well guess how that went."

"It wasn't good," he sighed.

Annie let out a snort. "Obviously."

_One year later... _

"Hey," Peeta said as he came up behind Katniss and kissed her ear. "You ready to head out?"

She smiled at him. "Yeah. The question is, is_ Haymitch _ready to head out?"

He laughed at that. "Oh, I'm sure he is, sweetheart."

She rolled her eyes, but he could tell that she didn't mind him saying the endearment. "You know, you don't have to-"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Haymitch shouted, and they could hear him bounding down the stairs. "Dammit, you have to wait for me-"

"Speaking of the devil..." Katniss trailed off as Peeta arched his eyebrows.

"I'm here!" Haymitch gasped as he burst into the kitchen.

Peeta smiled at him, and his voice was teasing. "You know, Haymitch, if you're going to disrupt the quiet order of the house by being so loud all the time, I think we're all going to have reconsider you living with us-"

"Oh, please," Haymitch rolled his eyes as he attempted to button up his cufflinks. "I- oh, _shit_, I can't seem to get this right-"

"Here," Katniss said in a soft voice as she stepped towards him. "I'll do it."

He gave her a smile. "Thanks."

"Well, are we all ready to head out?" Peeta asked once she was done.

"You know," Haymitch began, "if you help me do my tie-"

"No," Katniss said in a firm voice. "You can do that yourself on the train ride over to Seven."

Haymitch rolled his eyes as they exited the kitchen. "Oh, hell."

Johanna let out a sigh as zipped up her dress. She shouldn't even be going to this stupid Christmas function and taking part in the stupid skit. But she'd promised Annie, and besides, she was looking forward to seeing Finnie again.

She didn't want to admit to herself that the real reason she was dreading going was because she would have to see Gale. It wasn't like they hadn't seen each other in the year since their non-breakup, but at least when she had seen him, they hadn't had to pretend to be happy and force their smiles.

_"Mason," he'd nodded at her once when they'd happened to be together on an elevator in District Three. She was surprised (but not overly so) to find that it hurt, the way that he'd spoken so cooly, like nothing had ever transpired between them. _

_"Hawthorne," she'd said. If he was going to address her using her last name, then she wasn't going to address him with 'Gale'. _

_"Well, this is my stop," he had said as the doors opened. _

_"Bye," she'd said. _

_"Bye," he said, not once looking back. _

_That was what hurt more than his usage of her last name. _Turn around, turn around, turn around_, she'd pleaded. _Look back at me. Look back.

_But he hadn't, and the doors had closed, and she'd continued on to her destination. _

Shit. She shouldn't miss him as much as he did. _He was just a good fuck_, she told herself over and over again. So then why did she feel this stupid girly ache in her chest? Why did she wake up in the middle of night and reach over in the sheets before she remembered that he was gone? He was gone, and she'd been the one to chase him away.

Still, it was for the best. He would have tired of her eventually, and Johanna didn't think that she wanted to see his face when he told her that they were over. Everyone left her. Isthrial had died. Finnick had told her that Annie was the one he loved and that Johanna was like a sister to him. The only two men that she'd ever loved were gone, and she wasn't even going to start thinking about Gale in that way. Everything _good _in her life had left, and she wasn't going to risk that. She wasn't going to have that feeling of hurt go through her again.

_But you hurt without him, _her mind whispered.

"Shut up," she muttered to herself as she yanked a comb through her short hair. "Shut up, shut up, shut up."

The snow was falling outside, and the stars shined.

_To be continued._


	2. Year Three

A/N: _So_ sorry this is up late, my darling Dori, I was attacked by mobs at a party and had to hide inside a drawer. (Read: I was at a boring party and didn't get back until now! Sorry!) Anyway, here you go, hun!

Thank you to Annony, Anonymous, and caisha702 for the feedback! Whee! Additionally, thanks to those who put this on their story alerts and favorite list! (: You guys really are awesome!

**I TOTES DIDN'T REALIZE THAT I POSTED PART ONE TWICE. I APOLOGIZE, YOU GUYS. /HIDES IN MY CORNER/ THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO INFORMED ME. **

And thank you to caisha702 for catching the Richard Armitage reference! It is indeed from that scene _North & South_, which just solidifies what an excellent actor he is. Anyhow, enough of my rambling! On to the story!

Crīstes mæsse, Chapter 2

_Year Three, continued_

Johanna stared out of the window, because it seemed the easiest thing to do. She didn't want to stare at Peeta and Katniss holding hands and snuggling against each other, because it just made her think of what used to be. _Come on, Jo. You can't panic every time you see a couple with their fingers laced together or listen to them whisper endearments to each other. You and Gale didn't even _have _endearments for each other. _

"Hey," said a voice that slid next to her.

"Haymitch," she said, not turning away from the window. "Still drinking, I see."

"Still moping, I see," he smirked at her.

"I do not _mope_," she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, and I still don't see Maysilee everywhere I go," he retorted.

"She still being a snarky bitch?" Johanna asked as she turned to look at him.

Haymitch nodded in reply.

Johanna smiled at that. "Then she's still on my list of favorite people."

He laughed. "Being heartbroken hasn't made you any less sharp, I see."

She was the one who rolled her eyes this time. "Still pursuing that course of-"

He smirked at her. "It wasn't hard to figure out how you felt - how you _still _feel - about him, you know."

Johanna let out a sigh. "Aren't you supposed to be taking a nap or something, Haymitch?"

He rose from his seat. "Goodbye, Jo," he smiled. "Think on what I said, will you?"

Haymitch didn't see her face, but he knew that she was scowling at his back as he exited the compartment. He smiled.

/ / /

"Auntie Jo!" Finnie cried out happily as the compartment door swung open and he came running in.

"Hello there!" Johanna cooed as she swooped him up. "Aren't you growing big?"

Annie made her way over to Peeta and Katniss. "Merry Christmas Eve," she nodded at them.

They smiled at her. "He's growing rather fast, isn't he?" Peeta nodded at Annie's son.

She laughed. "He is."

Peeta reached over and squeezed her hand. "How have you been? It's been so long since I last saw you-"

Annie let out another laugh. "I wasn't aware that two weeks was that long, Peeta."

"For Peeta, that appears to be an eternity," Katniss interjected.

"How's Haymitch?" Annie asked. "Now, him I haven't seen for three months, especially since he never showed up to rehearsal-"

"He's doing good," Katniss nodded. "As good as he can do, anyway."

Annie arched her eyebrows. "Much better than the state he was in last year?"

"Definitely," Peeta said. "Did you want to see him? We could-"

"No," Annie shook her head. "He'll come along when he will. Besides, he's going to suffer from us suffocating him later tonight and all day tomorrow, so we should probably give him some space before we torment him."

"Why, Annie," Katniss rose her eyes. "I didn't know it was in you to be quite so evil."

"You don't know many things about me, Katniss," Annie winked at her.

/ / /

"I'll have you know that I'm doing much better," Haymitch said to the empty space. "Maysilee!"

She appeared, an amused smile on her face. "My my, Haymitch. I didn't know that you missed me."

"As if," he rolled his eyes as he poured the alcohol into two glasses. "Want some?"

"Oh, and he's gotten courteous, too," Maysilee smiled. "What an improvement."

He took it in good humor. "You look the same, as always."

"Really?" she rose her eyebrows. "You know, when it comes from you, I'm never sure if it's an insult or a-"

"It's a good thing," he sipped at his drink.

"You know, I think I might actually be proud of you," she said.

He blinked. "Oh? And why is that?"

She waved her hand. "Pulling your life together, actually _getting _friends, even advising Johanna Mason on her love life - it seems you're not just useful for drinking up the liquor supply, my friend."

He let out a rueful laugh. "You make it sound like I'm some sort of saint."

"Hardly," she shrugged. "It's just that..."

"What?" he frowned.

Maysilee gave him a smile. "Merry Christmas, Haymitch."

"What the hell?" he muttered to the empty space in front of him. "Hey! You're not supposed to pull a vanishing act on me, Maysilee!"

There was no answer.

/ / /

"What if I mess up?" Katniss asked.

"Katniss," Peeta smiled at her, holding onto her hands. "Katniss, sweetheart, calm down."

"I cannot believe you had the nerve to suggest this to me! Hell, I can't even believe I let you talk me into it-"

Annie poked her head inside the room. "Five minutes till we go on-stage, you guys."

"Five minutes?" Katniss nearly shrieked. "Peeta, this is the worst thing that could possibly-"

He laughed. "Katniss. Are you telling me that this is even scarier than the Games? That-"

"Yes!" she snapped. "I can't do this, Peeta!"

"Yes," he nodded as he pressed his lips to her. "Yes, you can."

She was silent for a moment, but then she glared at him. "You think _kissing_ me is going to reassure me, Peeta?"

"Katniss," he laughed. "Katniss, you can do anything. Just imagine that I'm the only one watching you-"

"But you're not!" she hissed. "You're going to be on-stage as well, or do I need to remind you of that? As you seem to have conveniently forgotten-"

"Just remember, this is nothing," Peeta said, his voice calm. "This is-"

"How can you be so calm?" she demanded.

"I'm not," he lied.

"Oh, really?" she didn't sound convinced.

"I'll tell you a secret," he said, his voice lowering as he leaned forward. "I'm terrified."

She laughed. "You are _not_!"

"I am!" he insisted. "But we'll-"

Johanna poked her head inside the room, "Four minutes, you guys."

"Oh, what the hell," Katniss muttered under her breath.

/ / /

"Everdeen's panicking," Johanna noted as she leaned back on the couch.

Annie laughed. "I'd be surprised if she wasn't."

"I can't believe we let Plutarch talk us into this," Johanna sighed.

"Well, at least it's all of the Victors and our families," Annie smiled. "That should give us a sense of-"

"Yeah, all seven of us and our plus ones," Johanna rolled her eyes.

Annie frowned good-naturedly. "I wasn't aware that my son was a plus one, Jo."

"Oh, don't worry," Johanna winked at her. "I'll take good care of him."

Annie laughed, and then she sighed. "You realize that we've only practiced this skit about five times?"

Johanna smirked. "Poor Plutarch couldn't get us to practice more."

"I wouldn't say that I pity him..." Annie began.

"He knows we probably would have beat the shit out of him if he'd tried to get us to practice some more," Johanna shrugged. "Well, none of us are seasoned actors except for the Mellark boy, so it's not as though we're going to be amazing or anything."

Annie gave her a sad smile. "We're all actors in our own way, Jo."

"Don't go all philosophical on me now," Johanna warned her teasingly.

"What, and miss my fun?" Annie winked. "I don't think so."

"You know," Johanna said as she checked her watch, "we should probably head backstage now. I think it's been more than three minutes."

"Indeed," Annie nodded.

/ / /

"Oh, but we cannot find any shelter!" Johanna shouted. "The inns are all full! What shall we do, husband? Oh, what shall we _do_?"

"Those last few lines seem a bit forced, don't they?" Katniss whispered to Annie.

Annie smirked at her. "I'd force it too if I just realized that I had to act with Gale instead of the original-"

Johanna was not pleased. She knew that she should have suspected something like this, and she _had_, damn it, she had. It was just that - oh, _hell_, was it her line now?

"Look! Shelter!" Gale yelled a bit too loudly. He didn't seem the least bit comfortable with this either, Johanna had to admit. At least he wasn't in on the plan - at the moment, Johanna didn't know whether she should be relieved by this fact or a bit disappointed.

"Oh, yes, I see it!" Johanna shouted. _That doesn't sound like the right line, but who cares? _"We must hurry! The baby is about to explode out of my belly!"

"Babies don't _explode_ out of your belly," Gale hissed at her as they ran to the fake inn.

"Oh, shut up," Johanna snapped at him. The fake snow kept on falling around them, and it made her nose itch.

"Good day!" Enobaria barked a bit too roughly as she opened the window. "How may we help you?"

"We need shelter!" Gale was shouting again. "My wife is about to give birth to a baby!"

"Oh, my stomach!" Johanna exclaimed as she clutched at her sides.

From the right side of the stage, Annie and Katniss did their best not to burst into fits of laughter.

"We have no more room in our inn!" Haymitch boomed as he threw his arm around Enobaria's shoulder. "But you may stay in our manger!"

"What?" Gale roared. "I won't have my wife sleeping in a haystack-"

Johanna sneezed.

"That's not in the script," Enobaria frowned. "Both of those lines weren't in the script! Well, if you count _sneezing _as a line-"

"You're not supposed to say that," Haymitch whispered into her ear.

"Right," Enobaria nodded before her voice rose. "Away to the manger, young lovers!"

"My wife meant travelers! Young travelers! Hurrah!" Haymitch boomed as he ran out of the fake inn and ushered them to the manger.

The lights shining on the inn dimmed as the three of them entered the decorated manger.

"If an animal shits on me, I am going to _kill _Beetee," Johanna hissed as they sat down.

"That doesn't sound very Christmas-like, Mason," Gale whispered at her.

"Well!" Haymitch shouted. "Good night!"

"It's a very _dark_ night!" Johanna exclaimed.

Gale shot her a look that said her line was wrong. "Yes!" he shouted back. "If there was no light, I could not see!"

A sheep bleated and nuzzled Johanna's fingers, and a pig rolled around on the floor. "My, look at the animals!" she hollered before she lowered her voice. "I'll have you know that if you had _anything _to do with this, I _will _cut your throat-"

"Lovely!" Gale yelled before he shot her an angry look. "Really? Well, that's your solution to everything, isn't it? Getting rid of people-"

"Wow!" Johanna cried, a faux smile on her face. "They're so beautiful!" She gripped his hand so hard in hers that Gale thought she was crushing his fingers. "Why?" she hissed. "Do you have a problem with it?"

"Wrong lines," he hissed back at her. "_Again_, Jo."

"Don't try and order me around," she snapped.

"Excuse me?" he rose his eyebrows. "I don't know why you always seem to think-"

"Oh, _shit_!" Johanna screamed. "Oh, fucking gods, the baby is coming out!"

"This wasn't in the script!" Plutarch fretted as he clutched frantically at Katniss. "Oh, what do we do?"

Annie let out a cough that sounded a lot like muffled laughter. "Let them go on."

Beetee frowned as he looked over at Haymitch. "Is that a cue for the lights and effects to go on earlier? You know, I had the _perfect _effect scheduled, but it should be in two minutes, not now-"

Haymitch gave a shrug of his shoulders. Really, this whole bickering of Johanna and Gale's was just too amusing to pass up. "I guess."

"I don't think that the original Mary dropped expletives like a sailor," Gale hissed into Johanna's ear. "She also wasn't polytheistic-"

"Shut up," she snapped at him. "I don't give a shit, this is _my _role, and I'll do whatever the hell I want with it-"

"Oh, like you always do-"

"Oh, dear gods!" Johanna screamed to drown out his voice. "The baby! I can see it bursting out of me!"

Lights flashed, red and white and green, and for a moment, the stage was black.

"Babies don't _burst _out, Johanna," Gale snapped.

"Oh, hush," Annie laughed softly as she handed her sleeping son to Johanna. "Stop arguing, you two."

Johanna would have replied, but Annie had already darted off of the stage, and a white light descended on them.

"The baby!" Gale shouted. "The baby has come out!"

"Lo and behold!" Johanna yelled as she held a sleeping Finnie up.

Katniss ran onto the stage from the right, waving her arms around shouting. Enobaria, Haymitch, and Beetee trailed after her, all stroking their drawn-on beards. "The star has shown me the way, you Three Kings!" Katniss yelled.

Peeta nearly slammed onto her as he came bursting out from the left. "I am the star!" he shouted before he began to twirl around.

"Oh, look!" Katniss shouted, turning back to the three kings. "The star I told you about! It has come!"

"It shall lead us!" Enobaria yelled.

"Yes!" Haymitch agreed.

"Fascinating!" Beetee beamed.

The four of them trailed after Peeta for about half a minute, who had a genuinely happy smile on his face. Then, rather abruptly, he disappeared from the stage.

"The star has disappeared!" Katniss hollered.

"It would seem so!" Beetee squeaked.

"That's not good!" Enobaria shouted. "How shall we reach the baby now?"

"I'm back!" Peeta sang as he was dragged onto the stage by Annie. "The angel has come to show us the light!"

"An angel!" Beetee and Haymitch chorused. "Wow! She is a beauty!"

"Our saving grace!" Katniss chirped.

"You look totally hot!" Enobaria shouted. "Did you get a makeover or something?"

"I don't think that's the right line," Beetee coughed.

"Indeed!" Annie smiled. "The proximity of the star makes me quite warm, my kings! Now, follow us and you shall not be lost!"

The entire group ran around in circles for about two more minutes, and finally, they came to a stop at the manger.

"Oh!" Katniss exclaimed.

"You have arrived!" Annie yelled.

"Excellent!" The three kings chorused together.

"Goodbye!" Annie and Peeta chorused before they promptly ran off of the stage together.

"May I hold the child?" Haymitch shouted.

"I'm supposed to say that line first," Enobaria hissed at him. "You _stole _my line, Abernathy-"

"Yes!" Gale shouted. "How lovely of you to come, my kings!"

"What are they, a threesome?" Johanna sneered a bit too loudly.

Beete coughed and adjusted his glasses. "Um, no-"

"Wonderful!" Haymitch boomed as Gale transferred a sleeping Finnie into his arms. "Look, the babe is asleep!"

At this precise moment, little Finnick Junior chose to wake up. "Grandpa Mitch!" he laughed, his tiny fingers reaching out to the man's face.

Annie and Peeta bounded back onto the stage. "Such is the tale of Christmas!" they shouted.

From his place backstage, Plutarch began to cry.

The audience gave them a standing ovation, with President Paylor leading the applause.

/ / /

"See?" Peeta laughed as he pressed his lips to Katniss' forehead. "You didn't forget a single line!"

She smiled at him. "Well, I suppose that wasn't _too _bad."

"Does that mean you're going to say yes to this next year if we get asked?" Peeta asked, his voice teasing.

Katniss smirked. "You know, I don't even know if Plutarch is going to let us-"

The door burst open, and two screaming figures came in. "... think that you can order me around, Hawthorne!" Johanna screamed.

"Oh, that's rich!" Gale shouted. "As if you weren't the one trying to act all high-handed and-"

"How dare you! I'll have you know that-"

"Enough!" Haymitch roared.

"Shut up!" they chorused as they turned to him.

He held up his hands. "Fine! Argue on Christmas Eve! That'll definitely make your holiday so much better! In case you've forgotten, we still have the tree lighting, which, need I remind you, you both agreed to attend-"

"I'm not going if that bastard is going to be in attendance!" Johanna screamed as she pointed at Gale.

"Excuse me?" Gale shouted. "You're the one who's the craziest bitch around for miles and miles-"

"Yes, I _am _a bitch, in case you'd forgotten that, you pathetic little whelp-"

"Oh, just shut the fuck up and have your make-up sex already," Enobaria rolled her eyes as she ripped a package of chocolate open with her teeth.

"_You _shut up," Johanna sneered.

"Can you two stop acting like immature children for five minutes?" Beetee sighed.

The door burst open, and Annie walked in, little Finnie cradled in her arms. "Auntie Jo!" the young boy screamed happily when he saw her. "Mommy, Auntie Jo!"

Johanna's face softened, and she held out her arms as Annie transferred her son over. "Hello," she cooed affectionately.

"Nothing solves an argument like little Finnick Junior, eh?" Enobaria smirked.

"Just like his father," Haymitch smiled sadly as he remembered the Career Victor.

"You've failed pretty well," Annie said as they looked down from the balcony.

Gale let out a rueful laugh. "You don't say?"

She shot him a look. "I never took you for a coward, Hawthrone."

His lips twisted into a scowl. "I'm not a coward, Annie."

She arched her eyebrows. "Oh, really? Then what was that I saw in there? Mostly the two of you just exploding at each other again, and you weren't even _trying_ to-"

"What do you want me to do?" his voice rose. "Gods, Annie, it's not as though Jo even gives me a choice-"

"You're doing exactly what she's expected of every single man in her life!" Annie shouted at him. "And frankly, I can't believe I even thought you had the balls to try-"

His face turned an angry red. "I'll have you know that I _do _have-"

She rolled her eyes. "Well, the opposite of that was clearly shown today-"

Gale turned his back on her and slid the door open.

"Where do you think you're going?" Annie yelled.

"To prove to everyone that I'm not some stupid pussy!" Gale shouted at her as the door closed behind him.

Annie laughed as she readjusted her scarf. Really, it was a bit too easy, the way that Gale had played into her hands like this. Still, he and Johanna deserved their happiness, even if they_ were_ two incredibly stubborn blockheads who refused to do something about it.

There was the sudden crunch of boots beside her, and Annie knew exactly who it was that had come. She'd been waiting all day now, as she waited every day.

"Hello, Finnick," she said softly.

"What, that's all I get?" he asked as he stepped beside her, his tone teasing as he placed his fingers over hers. "No 'I missed you'?"

She turned to him, a smile on her face. "I did miss you."

"I've been here the whole time," he said, his eyes searching hers.

"I know," Annie replied.

"And I'm very real," he grinned at her. "You have to believe that, you know."

"Do I?" she asked softly. "You'll still come back even if I don't."

He gave her a sad smile. "Oh, my beautiful mermaid," Finnick sighed as he tucked a few stray tendrils behind her ear. "My very dearest girl of the water, you should know that-"

She shivered as she felt his cool touch against her skin. "I know."

He shook his head and let out a sigh. "You say you do, but you don't."

She shot him an angry look. "Are you trying to insult my-"

Finnick gave her a sad smile. "Finnie's a beautiful boy, you know."

Her laugh was choked and full of sadness. "He might turn out to be as beautiful as his father. You never know."

His hand cupped her cheek, touching her and yet not. "He'll be more beautiful."

Annie arched her eyebrows. "Oh? And why is that?"

Finnick winked at her. "Why, he's the product of you and me, my love. Take one gorgeous specimen, combine said specimen with the loveliest woman to ever exist, and you get the hottest piece of ass to ever walk this earth."

Annie laughed. "Finnick."

He went on, "And you know he has you to raise you."

She let out a shaky breath. "I don't know what I'm doing half the time."

He shook his head. "No one ever does. We just stumble down the path, Annie."

Her eyes were so green, Finnick thought. Just like his. But she'd always been the one who was beautiful. "I love you," she said.

Strange how those words never failed to make his heart flutter every time she said them. "And I love _you_," he smiled at her, pressing his lips to hers, touching and yet not touching.

_Later_, they both thought. The touching would be for later.

/ / /

"Jo!" Gale yelled as he burst into the room. "Jo, we need to talk-" The room was empty, except for one remaining Victor, who was busy ripping open another packet of chocolate with her teeth.

Enobaria let out a laugh as she looked up. "Ready to fuck her now?" The woman jerked her head towards the hallway. "She's out there."

Gale shot her a look. "Did I say anything about sex?"

"Oh, but did you _not_?" Enobaria winked.

He ignored her raucous shrieks of laughter as he burst into the hallway, his pace breaking into a run. "Jo!" he shouted.

She was standing just a few feet away from him, a sleeping Finnie bundled in her arms. "... yes, you did," Johanna was cooing. "You went and had a-"

"Jo," he breathed out. "Jo, we need to talk-"

"Quiet," she frowned, even though she didn't look up. "Finnie's just falling asleep."

Annie's son was the only thing that was keeping her from yelling at him, Gale knew. "We need to talk," he repeated.

"So I heard," she retorted. "Tell me, why should I even do that?"

"Well, maybe you shouldn't," Gale snapped. "But I'm going to say what I need to say, and if you're going to ignore me, then that's not-"

"Can you stop trying to sound like some stupid, cheesy poet and just get on with it?" Johanna still wasn't looking up at him.

"You know, someone told me once that you were scared," Gale began.

She let out a snort. "I'm never scared."

"Then you're a liar," Gale's eyes flashed.

She shrugged. "Say what you will."

"And the thing is, they didn't even have to tell me that. I already knew. I already knew why-"

Johanna sounded amused. "I'm guessing this person was Annie?"

"It doesn't matter who it was," Gale said.

"_Was it _Annie?" Johanna asked.

"Why does it matter?" he answered her query with a query. "All that matters is that you're scared."

"Of what?" she laughed as she rocked Finnie in her arms. "The dark?"

"Of me," Gale replied.

She was silent for a long moment, and then she began to laugh. "Oh, that's rich, Hawthorne. I'm scared of _you_? You're a pathetic whelp, and I'm-"

"You thought I was going to leave you, didn't you?" he asked, his voice quiet.

Johanna finally looked up at him now, and he could see that her eyes were angry. "You _did _leave me."

"Yeah, after you basically told me that there was nothing left between us-"

"Oh, so it's my fault now? Well, that's all fine and dandy, isn't it? Playing the 'Let's All Blame Johanna' game and seeing who wins the most-"

"It was never a game to me, Jo."

"That's what they all said," she snapped.

"Oh, and I'm just like the rest of them, am I?" he asked angrily.

_No. You're different. Too good for me, that's what you are. _"Yes, you are."

He let out a bitter laugh. "Why am I not surprised?"

"You shouldn't be," she replied.

Gale shot her a look. "If you're trying to distract me from telling you what I came here to tell you, which you no doubt _are_, it's not going to work."

She rose her eyebrows. "Really?"

"I can't tell you that I won't hurt you," Gale said. "Because I probably already have. And I know you have trust issues like _fuck_, and you know, maybe I _can_ do better than you."

"So leave, then," she snapped. "Damn it, Hawthorne, just _leave _me the fuck _alone_-"

"But I don't think I can," he cut her off. "Do better, that is. And I don't want anyone else." _Just you. _

Johanna said nothing, but she'd stopped rocking Finnie. There was a strange silence between them for a long minute, and then she reached over and placed a single finger to his cheek. "You're very young, Hawthrone. Merry Christmas."

Then she spun around and began to walk down the hall. "Jo!" he shouted after her. "Jo!" _I'm here. You don't have to be so alone. I'm here. _

She disappeared from his sight, not once looking back.

The hall doors burst open, and he could hear people rushing past him and laughing, but Gale realized that he had never felt so fucking _alone_.

/ / /

Johanna was about to slide the door open when she saw that Annie's head was bowed. Her fingers stopped at the door, and she knelt down besides Finnie. "What do you suppose your dear mother is doing, Finnie?"

He let out a little giggle. "Look!" he pointed.

Johanna looked, and she saw that Annie was shaking her head fervently, her head still bowed. Her eyes moved over to Annie's left, and for a brief, fleeting, second, she saw the outline of an all-too-familiar figure, whose head was also bent. "Finnick?" she whispered.

"Look!" Finnie was shouting. "A man!"

Annie seemed to hear them, for she whipped her head up, her eyes piercing as she glanced through the glass. She was saying something (what exactly, Johanna couldn't hear), and then she hurried over. "Finnie!" she breathed as she slid the door open and gathered her son in her arms. "Sweetie, what are you doing here? Is everything alright?"

"Man!" Finnie giggled at her.

Annie blinked and gave him a perplexed look. "What?"

"Man talking," Finnie smiled. "Man and mommy."

Annie's face turned ashen white. "Finnie..."

"He was there," Johanna said in quiet voice. "He was there, Annie."

Then Annie did the least thing that Johanna expected. "I am so _stupid_," the Career Victor muttered as she closed her eyes.

"What?" Johanna asked.

"Bad word!" Finnie exclaimed. "Mommy!"

"I should've known," Annie said. "I should've known, damn it."

"Well?" Maysilee asked as she plopped down beside him on the railing. "What do you think?"

"Still here, aren't I?" Finnick asked as he gave her a smile.

"That you are," she laughed.

"What, you're not off to torture Haymitch some?"

"I think I'm almost done," Maysilee said, her voice a bit sad. "I can't say that I won't miss it, though."

"He's doing a lot better," Finnick said, giving her an awkward pat on the shoulder.

"I know," she nodded. "Reverse psychology really does work, you know."

He let out a laugh. "Tell me about it."

She smiled at him. "I see that Finnie and Johanna have convinced Annie that you're really you. Albeit a ghost, but still you."

Finnick let out a breath. "You'd think that appearing in her sleep would convince her-"

"She's stubborn," Maysilee laughed. "Both of you are."

/ / /

_They laughed as they collapsed in the snow together, both of them doubling over from exhaustion. _

_"We should do this again sometime," Finnick breathed out before he could help it. _

_Annie gave him a smile. "You know, I might actually be persuaded to say yes-" _

_"Really?" he arched his eyebrows. _

_She laughed. "I was going to say 'some day in the distant future', but you cut me off." _

_His face sobered, and a gloved hand reached over to stroke her cheek. "Annie..." _

_She caught his hand in hers as she sat up. "Come on. We're late to Mags', and she's going to have our heads if we don't fully indulge in her cookie-making plans-"_

_Their fingers were still laced together, Finnick noted as he rose. Yes, their hands were gloved, but did it matter? "You're actually fine with this?" _

_Annie let out a breath. "We used to be friends, Finnick. I wouldn't put it past us to be mature and do this." She saw the dance in his eyes, and rolled her eyes. "For Mags' sake." _

_He gave her a knowing smile. "Merry Christmas, Annie." Damn. He should really know when to stop grinning like some stupid idiot. _

_She smiled back, soft and warm. "Merry Christmas, Finnick." _

_/ / /  
_

"Oh, just put it on top of the tree already," Haymitch rolled his eyes as he watched Katniss and Peeta whisper hurriedly to each other atop the manlift and haggle over possession of the star.

"You're doing good," Maysilee smiled at him.

"Wow, praise from Maysilee Donner," he laughed. "Never would have thought I'd live to see that day."

"You never think," she replied. "You just do things."

"I suppose so," he shrugged.

"I'm going to miss you, Haymitch," she said as she reached over and touched his cheek. "You were always quite the personality."

He frowned at her. "What do you mean-"

"Merry Christmas, Haymitch," she smiled. "It's snowing."

His frown deepened. "It's been snowing for hours now-"

She was gone.

/ / /

She was standing next to him. _Shit_, she thought. Shit, shit, _shit_. Of all the convenient coincidences. "They take forever to light the tree, don't they?" Johanna asked. Wait, why the hell was she even trying to make conversation with him? What was wrong with her?

"Yeah," Gale replied in a stiff voice. "You know, last year she just stuck it on and everyone clapped."

"Perhaps Peeta is learning how to be a bit of a pants-wearer this year," Johanna noted.

He laughed at that, and Johanna realized she didn't know how much she'd missed the sound until now. "I guess."

More awkward silence now. Great. "I shouldn't have said what I said," she said suddenly, not knowing what she was doing.

He blinked, frowning as he turned to her. "What? About Peeta?"

"Last year," she said, her voice tight. "When I said that-"

"No," Gale shook his head. "_I'm_ sorry. I mean, I shouldn't even have-"

"Fine," she said tersely. "We're even."

He let out a breath. "Jo..."

"Well," she said breezily. "I guess we'll all have a happy Christmas, won't we?"

"I'll be alone," he shrugged.

She frowned at that. "Gale, I thought you were going to Annie's with everyone else-"

He shook his head. "I have work to do-"

Johanna laughed then. "Work? Again? On Christmas? Gale, you really need to-"

He cut her off. "Promise me something?"

She blinked. "What?"

"Don't be alone," he said. "Spend the day with Annie, or Haymitch and Beetee. Maybe Katniss and Peeta, if you're feeling up to tormenting them. Hell, even Enobaria is a suitable choice. But just promise me that you won't be alone."

"Why?" she asked.

"You shouldn't have to be alone on Christmas," Gale rasped.

Johanna reached over and laced her fingers with his. "No one should."

He understood what she meant, and his eyes turned to hers, searching. "You sure?"

They weren't going to be perfect and have the dancing rainbows and frolicking unicorns of happy relationships. She had her own demons, and he had his. Hell, they'd probably fight and scream at each other more often than not. And maybe he was crazy, but she was crazy, too, and for him, that was more than enough. Because they had each other, and they might be two fucked up people who weren't all too sure where they were headed, but that was what they were. Two people. Together. And who knew how it might turn out?

Katniss Everdeen placed the star on top of the tree as the clock struck midnight, and the stars above them shined in the Christmas sky.

/ / /


End file.
